Photographs
by Lydia29
Summary: Set after the scene in episode 7 where Carter asks Elizabeth if she can see more baby photographs. Just a little one shot for now, it may develop into something more. I felt like this scene was missing from the episode; Carter and Elizabeth need to talk it out! Anyway, enjoy!


**Hey! It's been forever since I wrote a fanfic! I've recently binge watched Finding Carter, I watched all 7 episodes in one sitting! It had me hooked from the very beginning. I came onto fanfiction and noticed that there are hardly any fanfics yet. So I thought I'd write a one shot. Nothing major, just a little scene that I wanted to add in. **

**Please feel free to review. I'd love to know what people think **

**Set during episode 7 after Carter and Taylor have selected their dresses for their birthday party. **

Carter hung the blue lace dress up in her room and looked at it with a smile. She was glad that she and Taylor had decided to wear the same dress, in true twin fashion. She sat down on her bed and continued to admire the dress. Carter couldn't believe it was her seventeenth birthday; she had only just turned sixteen, so she thought. There was a knock at the door,

"Come in" Carter called out. The door swung open and in came Grant carrying two large boxes, "Whoah there, do you need a hand?" Carter jumped up.

"Yep" Grant replied breathlessly as Carter practically caught one of the boxes. "Mom" he paused, "err Elizabeth" he remembered that Carter still wasn't comfortable with calling her mom, "asked me to bring these in" he explained as he set down the box on the floor. Carter placed the one she was holding next to it.

"Wow" she replied in awe as she opened the lid of one box, it was full to the brim of baby pictures, clothes and soft toys, "I can't believe she kept all of this"

"It was the only piece of you that she had left" the twelve year old profoundly explained, "the only thing she had to hold onto" he knelt down beside his sister, "plus she's a hoarder" his sarcastic wit emerged and Carter smirked in response. "You were kinda cute" Grant said as he picked up a photograph.

"Only kinda?" Carter teased as she lightly slapped her brother with her hand.

"Bet this is the only time I'll see you in pink" Grant said handing a photo to Carter. She was very quiet, almost in shock and total amazement at the hundreds of items that Elizabeth had kept to remember her, "Anyway, I'll leave you to it" Grant said as he stood up to leave.

"Thanks Grant" Carter turned her head to look at him.

"No problem" he smiled before closing the door behind him as he left.

Carter searched through both of the boxes, covering her entire bedroom floor in every item from the first three years of her life. She picked up the tiny little shoes that were once hers and cradled them in her hands. She held up the small dress that was so tiny it wouldn't even fit a teddy bear in it. These were the pieces of her life that she had been missing, and so eager to know about. This is what she had always wanted.

Carter heard a knock at the door. "Grant, if you've come back to claim you were cuter than me I've got a photo to prove you wrong!" Carter shouted. The door opened, she turned around to face the entrance of her bedroom, "Oh" she said in response to seeing Elizabeth.

"Sorry to disturb you, I wanted to check that Grant had brought the boxes" Elizabeth said almost hesitantly.

"Yeah he did. Thank you" Carter smiled at her. Elizabeth stepped further into the room; her eyes were fixated on the piles of belongings that Carter had created all over the floor.

"Here" Carter placed a cushion on the floor beside her, urging Elizabeth to sit down. Elizabeth looked down at her daughter and smiled; she knelt beside Carter and picked up a photo. She let out a small gasp, which she disguised as a laugh, trying to hide the fact that she was on the verge of crying.

"You were two years old here" she explained, "we took you and Taylor on your first vacation" Carter looked at Elizabeth as she told the story, watching her mother as she stared down at the photo. "You err, you didn't like the sand beneath your feet" a small tear filled up Elizabeth's eyes and gracefully ran down her cheek, "so I had to carry you everywhere, from the car to the picnic blanket and the picnic blanket to the ocean. You wouldn't let anyone else carry you, just me. You used to cry every time someone else picked you up" Elizabeth let out a small blubber and more tears emerged. "I'm sorry" she apologised.

"It's okay" Carter replied. Elizabeth had always acted so tough around her and the rest of the family; this was the first time that Carter had really seen her soft side.

"I just wish we could've taken you on more vacations" Elizabeth confessed as she wiped her eyes. "We missed this whole chunk of your life because I lost you" this was the first time that Elizabeth had opened up to Carter about her abduction. Carter realised that Elizabeth must have gone through a great trauma. Especially because she was a detective, and she couldn't find her own missing daughter. "I never got to learn the sound of your voice or if you grew a tolerance to sand between your toes. I never got to watch your school plays or hug you when you were hurt" Elizabeth truly opened up about how she felt, "I missed everything" Carter looked at the vulnerable woman with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, trying to figure out what to say.

"I still don't really like the feeling of sand" she eventually replied. Elizabeth let out a little laugh in between her tears. "And the school plays were pretty bad so you saved yourself some pain there" Elizabeth looked Carter directly in the eye. Carter had realised what she had said, how could the pain of watching a school play even compare to the pain of losing your child? She often made humorous comments without fully thinking it through first. "Sorry" Carter added, "I can't even imagine what you went through" Elizabeth looked down at the photo again, with fresh tears running down her cheek bones.

"I never stopped looking for you Carter" Elizabeth semi whispered.

"Grant said you thought I was dead" Carter replied abruptly, Elizabeth's eyes jolted up to meet Carter's.

"I never thought that. Never." Elizabeth replied, "After she took you, we searched for days, and weeks, and months. They told me it would be easier if I told myself you were dead. They told me that if I mourned for you I would be able to move on" Carter intently watched Elizabeth again, "But I couldn't, I just couldn't accept that. I knew in my heart that you weren't dead. I knew that the person who took you couldn't do that to you. I knew that they would end up falling madly in love with you, just like I did."

"I know you probably think she was a horrible monster who took your baby away. But she never hurt me" Carter stated, "She loved me."

"I know" Elizabeth whispered back, she nodded once as she choked back tears.

"And I'm here now" Carter offered as reassurance.

"Yeah"

"Plus think how much storage you'd need if I was here for those thirteen years. There would be so many boxes!" Carter said, Elizabeth laughed a little.

"You know I thought you'd be like Taylor, because you're twins, but you really remind me of Grant" Elizabeth said as she dried her eyes.

"Am I how you imagined?" Carter asked as Elizabeth flicked through more photos. She looked up at Carter and smiled as she nodded.

"Well a tad more rebellious, but other than that, spot on" Elizabeth said; Carter couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad you kept all of this" Carter confessed.

"I could never throw any of this away" Elizabeth said, "I mean, look how cute this is" she held up one of the many outfits that had been saved.

"Taylor's right" Carter said as she looked at Elizabeth, "you are a good mom" she smiled and leaned forward to hug Elizabeth. This was the first act of affection that Carter had shown towards her mother. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Carter and pulled her in close. She smelt the sweet scent of her daughter's skin, and her silky hair brushed against the side of her neck. Elizabeth held on for as long as Carter would let her. Carter felt Elizabeth's body relax in her arms, as if this was the sort of closure she needed; confirmation that her daughter was back. Elizabeth stroked Carter's hair and kissed her on the side of her forehead before they broke the embrace.

"I like this side of you" Carter stated, Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, "the mom side of you. Don't get me wrong I love the bad ass cop thing, but this is nice" Carter smiled and shrugged her shoulders once.

"Well I like this side of you too" Elizabeth replied, "more compassion and less rebellion" Carter responded with a cheeky smile.

"Dinner's ready!" they heard Taylor shout from downstairs. Carter jumped up and offered a hand to Elizabeth.

"Come on mom" she said as she helped her up. Elizabeth exhaled deeply in shock and a smile covered her face from ear to ear. She placed her arm around Carter's shoulders and Carter placed her arm around Elizabeth's waist, and they walked downstairs to dinner together.


End file.
